The Further Tribulations of Sir Dippingsauce Pinington III
by Koios Kyrus
Summary: The Pines twins return to Gravity Falls over winter break to catch up with some old friends, but one of them finds more than friendship waiting for them. (Oh god that was cheesy... it's a work in progress, that includes this part as well. And the title.)
1. Chapter 1

They had not returned to the Gravity Falls that they remembered, but Dipper and Mabel Pines were not overly troubled by it. The exotic adventures that had seemingly lurked around every corner that summer were absent from their Christmas break at the Mystery Shack, but the twins had promised their Gruncle Stanley that they wouldn't seek out any more of the dangerous creatures or deadly phenomena that they encountered during those strange months. They'd been entirely content to spend time at the Shack and catch up with old friends; Stan and Ford had enough tales from their own adventuring over the past few months to satisfy any thirst they might have had for more excitement.

Rubbing his eyes, Dipper glanced out the window momentarily before his gaze dropped to his bedspread. He saw the dungeon he had been putting together for Ford; still not quite complete, but near enough that he could finish it before their game resumed. He picked up a pen with a vague thought of finishing it right then, but then groaned involuntarily – it was far too early to even think about thinking.

Mabel was already downstairs, helping herself to a heaping mound of Stancakes. "Morning Dipper! You missed the syrup race, so I did it myself."

"Who won?" Dipper asked, poking his head in the fridge to see if there was any milk.

"Deliciousness," Mabel responded, grinning broadly, and Dipper noticed the sticky residue around her mouth.

"… Mabel, is there any syrup left at all?"

Immediately her expression became downcast. "I'm sorry Dipper. I couldn't help myself. Stancakes aren't the same without syrup, I know."

"Actually I was gonna pass on the Stancakes," said Dipper. "I love Gruncle Stan but he's got more body hair than the Multibear, and it tends to get everywhere."

"Dipper, they wouldn't be Stancakes without the hair," said Mabel. "Besides, I've been collecting it! See, I made him a bracelet!"

Dipper wished desperately that he could have unseen the Stan-hair bracelet, but it did resolve his quandary of what to have for breakfast. "Actually Mabel I think I'm gonna skip eating right now,"

he said. "Ford and I - "

"Aww c'mon Dipper, you can't skip breakfast! It's the most important meal of the day!" said Mabel. "Look, I saw some milk in the fridge. You can still have cereal."

"Mabel, that's not milk, that's one of Ford's experiments," said Dipper.

Mabel looked perplexed. "But Gruncle Ford was supposed to pick some up two days ago, and there was only one bottle in the fridge."

"He forgot. Don't you remember him and Stan arguing about it yesterday?" Mabel merely shrugged and took a drink from her glass, which Dipper noticed was filled almost to the brim with what looked for all the world like fresh milk.

Fighting the urge to retch, Dipper turned to head back upstairs, but Mabel said "Oh Dipper, there was something I was supposed to tell you. We're having another sleepover tonight."

He let out an involuntary moan; it was difficult to imagine the day beginning much worse. "Mabel, you've had Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica over every single night except this last one, and it's the first time I've gotten a full nights' sleep since we've gotten here. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"Oh come on, Dipper, you know you love them," Mabel said dismissively.

Grumbling incoherently, Dipper left.

Throughout the day he found himself dreading the coming sleepover; even Dungeons Dungeons and More Dungeons felt more like Diggity Dungeons and All That, though when Ford asked what was wrong he brushed him off. He always felt a bit guilty when he kept anything from his gruncle, but there seemed little point in complaining about it to him.

All too soon, the doorbell rang, and Dipper heard three familiar voices. With a world-weary sigh, he took his mystery novel downstairs to the den – at least he had the television (unless of course the girls decided to commandeer it), and Stan's chair was fairly comfy. Even from the attic, however, he could still hear them giggling and squealing. It was impossible to concentrate on his book.

He turned the TV on and began flipping through the channels. "Ducktective rerun… The Bachelor, True Werewolf… Real Housewives of Pluto… lame Ducktective spinoff… My Babysitter's a Zombie 3... nothing on." He flipped the TV off again and buried his face in the pillow he'd brought downstairs.

"You ok Dipper?"

He looked up; it was Pacifica, standing over him holding four Pitt colas. "Oh… hi Pacifica. I was just… um… watching TV?" He tried to discreetly press the remote to turn it back on, and the TV flickered back to life. "Princess Unicorn Ponies will return after these messages!" blared from the set, and Dipper felt his face turn deep red. "Just… yeah, catching up. They're doing a marathon."

Pacifica laughed. "If you wanted to do girly stuff you could have just asked to come upstairs. I'm sure Candy and Grenda would love to give you a makeover." She looked back at the screen. "I loved that show when I was little. God, it looks so lame now. But I can still remember, the first time I threatened to sue someone was when they announced they were taking a year and a half off."

"Ah, yeah," Dipper said. He could feel his palms growing sweaty as Pacifica showed no signs of leaving; at the same time, talking to her was at least better than burying his face in his pillow all night. "So… you wanna sit down, or something?"

"I'm not sitting on that filthy floor of yours," Pacifica said, pointing to the admittedly dirty floorboards of the Mystery Shack. It didn't even have a rug at the moment; Dipper wasn't quite sure what had happened but there were scorch marks in the boards.

"Yeah, uh… sorry. Never mind."

"Why can't I just sit in the chair, dummy?" she asked, nudging Dipper over and sitting down next to him. "Your uncle may be a hero, but he's still fat enough that any chair that can fit him can fit both of us."

"Hey now, I'm not that tiny," Dipper protested. "I'm growing actual muscles now, see?" He brandished his forearm and tried to flex. Pacifica tried to hide a smile. "Please. You're so skinny, your dorky little butt looked like it was going to disappear into the chair."

"But… I have a second chest hair now. A third one, even! And I've grown taller!" Dipper pulled down his shirt. Pacifica laughed, but it was kinder this time. "Yes, you have. Still a skinny dork though with your face always in a book."

Dipper sighed, and Pacifica laughed again. "Don't take it so hard dummy. It's cute in your own weird way."

"Yeah, but… I don't want to be cute!" Dipper said. "I've always wanted people to take me seriously. I want respect, I want people to treat me like I'm not a little kid anymore."

Pacifica looked taken aback. "I'm sorry," Dipper said hastily. "I just… this summer is really the first time I ever even thought I might be losing out on much of anything by growing up. And since I got back to California, it's been back to my old life – back to being Mabel's weird twin brother. Back to being treated exactly the same as before I left. Nobody there knows what I did here; I beat Bill twice and now I'm back to just being… just a kid."

Pacifica was silent for a moment, but Dipper sensed she was thinking. "Dipper," she finally said, "Nobody else could have done what you and Mabel did for this town. If it had been just Ford and Stan against Bill, the town would still be his." She put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I really hated the idea of growing up until I met your family. To me, it meant becoming more like my parents. Caring more about what people thought of me than how I actually felt, trying to control everyone and everything around me with money and social status." Dipper noticed a tear glistening in her eye as her head bowed.. "I hated it. But then I met you guys. And… I guess I saw that I didn't have to be like that. I didn't have to be like them."

He felt strangely comforted by her words; he wanted to do something comforting in return. Impulsively Dipper brushed her hair back over her ear. Shocked by his own boldness, he flushed and stuttered, trying to explain. "I'm sorry Pacifica," he muttered quickly as he sat on the offending hand in penance.

She smiled and sniffed. "Don't be. As I said, you've taught me that growing up doesn't have to be all bad."

Dipper smiled tentatively and looked over at her; she smiled back and leaned her head on his shoulder. He could feel his heart pounding; he couldn't believe what was happening. Pacifica had always been pretty but he'd hated her so much at first that he could barely be bothered to notice, but now… as he put his hand carefully on her golden hair and let it rest on her head, as he looked down at her face, eyes closed and smiling, he couldn't deny it – she was beautiful, even when her copious mascara was starting to run a bit.

"Whatcha thinking, Mr. Brainy Dorkus?" she asked through a smile and a sniffle.

"I… haha, no, you don't want to know," Dipper said, unable to keep a nervous tremor out of his voice.

"Oh come on now Dipper," Pacifica said, looking up at him and smiling devilishly, "talk to me. Tell me what deep mysterious thoughts are going through that head of yours?"

"I-it's too corny! You don't want to know, trust me."

"Dipper, if you don't tell me, I'm going to get Candy and Grenda down here to do a makeover on you."

Dipper sighed. "Fine, you got me. I was just thinking – you look beautiful right now. There's the genius thought you were so desperate to get."

Pacifica looked startled at first but then smiled shyly at him. "You really think I'm beautiful?"

"Haha, uh yeah, I… I guess," Dipper said, feeling tremendously awkward. Pacifica laughed. "You dummy. No girl hates being called beautiful, especially by a cute guy like you." She touched his arm lightly. "You can call me beautiful anytime."

Dipper laughed far too loudly and nervously. "Oh hey look, uh, my novel! I'll just go ahead and..." he picked it up and began searching frantically for where he left off. "Chapter nine… chapter nine..." Pacifica put her hands on his shoulders. "Oh come on you dork. What would you rather pay attention to? That book?" She kissed him on the cheek. "Or me?"

"I… uh..." Dipper could feel his palms sweating profusely. Pacifica smiled. "You know, I'm just lucky you haven't noticed all those California girls looking at you. I bet they'd pounce on your cute little butt in a minute if you gave them have a chance." She kissed him again on the cheek. "I'm just lucky you're such a dummy."

Dipper looked back at her and met her gaze for the first time in a while. Was it possible she'd gotten even more beautiful in the last few minutes? Had it only been a few minutes? He tried to think, but the only thing he could do was look at her, the gorgeous girl that was somehow, impossibly sitting on his lap, looking into his eyes… with her soft, pale skin that he wanted to caress and perfect little red lips that he desperately wanted to feel against his own. One thought consumed his mind – _lean in. Just do it. She's done everything short of smash you over the head with a brick while screaming KISS ME through a megaphone! What are you waiting for? Just move your stupid neck! Why won't your neck move! Oh god why are your palms so sweaty? Why do they always get sweaty when something like this happens, what is wrong with you?_

"Dipper, are you okay?" Pacifica looked genuinely concerned by now; for a panicked moment, Dipper wondered how long he'd been in his mental fugue. "Dipper?" She took his hand in hers. _Oh god, she's going to feel how sweaty it is and she's going to be so grossed out and she's going to run away and sue me or something and then never talk to me again and… wait what's squeezing my hand?_

Pacifica was still holding on.

In fact, she now had both hands around one of his and was squeezing it gently. "Hey, dummy. Stay with me. Talk to me. What's going on? Did I do something wrong?" She looked crestfallen. "Oh my god I can't believe this. I just made a complete idiot out of myself, didn't I. I don't know what I was thinking, I just… do you want to pretend that never happened?" She looked on the verge of tears again.

"Pacifica..." Dipper began, but his brain had shut down yet again. He couldn't think. He wanted to say something that would comfort her, to let her know that he never, ever would forget what happened; that he couldn't pretend that it didn't even if he wanted to, and how desperately he didn't want to forget any of it. He wanted to tell her how it felt to have her head on his shoulder, her lips against his skin, her arms around him, as though nothing existed in the world but the two of them and the chair. But he couldn't.

 _Show her._

He leaned in and kissed her.

It was an awkward kiss, to be sure – his lips bumped against hers, quick and uncoordinated, lingering only for an instant before Dipper jerked his head back, smiling shyly. "You really are the worst, you know that?" he whispered impulsively.

Pacifica laughed and gave him a playful shove. "So what, you do like me? Why couldn't you just say so you little dorkus?"

"Ah, haha," Dipper laughed nervously, "I hadn't really thought… well, I hadn't thought about you a lot, you know, in that way. I mean you were always pretty and all but I started off hating you because you were trying to destroy my sister and after you became our friend I guess I just… I mean, we went back to California, and… I thought about you. I wanted to see you again, I liked you, but I didn't think about it like this."

"Well, maybe you should stop thinking so much all the time," Pacifica said, and leaned in to kiss him again.

"Pacifica!" A voice from upstairs jolted them both; it was Grenda's unmistakable gravelly baritone. "Where are you? We're just starting with the trashy romance novels!"

She looked at Dipper. "I don't want to go," she whispered, giving him another quick kiss, "but I should. I'll see you again soon." She put his book back in his lap, grinning mischievously at him. "See if you can concentrate on your book now, nerd boy." And she went back upstairs, leaving a deeply confused Dipper Pines in her wake. Eventually he flipped on the television, but he didn't really watch it – he was in a daze the rest of the evening, barely even paying attention as the shadows lengthened and the skies darkened. He felt himself growing drowsy; it was dark out, and a quick glance at his watch showed that it was well past his bedtime. The noises from upstairs had long since ceased, the girls having apparently retired for the evening.

Suddenly he heard a creaking of the floorboards; someone was coming down the staircase. Jolted from his stupor, he sat up, craning his neck to see who it was.

"Pacifica?" he whispered, for it was her, standing awkwardly in the hallway, holding her pillow. "Hey, scoot over dummy. If I had to listen to Grenda's snoring for one more minute I'd have totally lost it. So I'm sleeping down here," she said. "You can go back to your bed, or stay here. Not that I care. But that chair is mine tonight."

Dipper smiled. "Well then you're gonna have to come and take it from me," he said, "and I'm not gonna give up without a fight."

Pacifica pushed him roughly aside and squeezed in alongside him. "Fight that, you skinny little nerd," she said, grinning at him.

"Ok, ok," Dipper said, smiling. "I surrender."

Pacifica burrowed into the blankets and snuggled up next to him. It was pleasantly intoxicating to have her warmth right up against his in a way that he had never felt before. "Put your arms around me dummy," Pacifica murmured drowsily.

"Oh, right," Dipper said, embracing her, hesitantly at first, but then feeling her settle and relax in his arms, he felt confident enough to tighten his hold. It was a strange new feeling, this, sleeping right next to someone else like this, a girl who could make his heartbeat quicken with her lightest touch – and now she was falling asleep in his arms, her whole body pressed right up against him. It felt good, it felt right – as though something in the world had fallen into place, and he hadn't even known it was missing. But now… he listened as Pacifica's breathing slowed and steadied as she drifted off in his arms. Now, he thought to himself, he wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. Chapter 2

Blinking and bleary-eyed, Dipper awoke far too early; he'd forgotten to draw the drapes, and sunlight was streaming directly on his face. He was about to pull the blanket over his head when he felt something shift slightly next to him; had it been less early, he might have screamed. As it was, he saw Pacifica's blonde hair poking out through the mound of blankets on the chair, mussed and tangled but unmistakable.

In his mind, Dipper slowly tried to piece together his memories of last evening. Pacifica had come over with Candy and Grenda to sleep over with Mabel, and she'd stopped to talk to him… and now she was here, sleeping next to him in the chair. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it; at times Pacifica still reminded him of the spoiled rich girl that he'd hated on sight, and he couldn't forget how she'd tried to destroy Mabel when they first met. On the other hand… she clearly wasn't that girl anymore, or maybe there had always been more to her than that, and she'd just needed someone to bring it out in her. Either way, she was not the prissy princess that he'd loathed so much through most of the summer.

But then who _was_ she?

"I might be overthinking this," Dipper muttered to himself. Pacifica shifted slightly next to him again, closer to him, and instinctively he put his arm around her. He was suddenly afraid to make any movement that might disturb her.

He wasn't sure how long it was before he felt Pacifica stirring next to him; she blinked a couple of times then looked at him, confused. Suddenly the events of the previous evening seemed to hit her all at once, and she sat bolt upright. "Dipper! I… uh… hi."

"Hey."

She cleared her throat nervously. "I… um… I'm thirsty. I think I'm gonna go get some water."

Dipper jumped up from the chair. "That's ok, I'll get it for you."

"Oh… ok."

He might not have any idea what was going on, reflected Dipper as he picked out a glass from the cupboard, but at least he didn't seem to be the only one. Pacifica seemed just as confused as he was. At least that put them on equal footing, he thought, but on the other hand it seemed like a rather risky way to go about anything.

He felt a wave of cold wash over his hand; he'd overfilled the glass and now it was flowing over him. Hastily he turned the tap off and poured a bit off the top so it wouldn't spill, then took it back to the den. "Here," he muttered, setting it beside Pacifica on the end table. "Hope you like it."

 _Hope you like it? What kind of a stupid thing was that to say? It's a glass of water; don't be such an idiot._

After a few sips, she set it back down. "Listen… I should probably go back upstairs. They… they're going to wonder if they wake up and I'm not there."

"Right," Dipper said. "Ok. So… see you at breakfast."

"Yeah." There was an awkward pause where they avoided eye contact entirely, then Dipper spoke again. "You can probably stay around a few more minutes. Mabel tends to sleep in."

"Oh. Um." Pacifica turned a bit red. "I… thanks, but maybe I should just head up. Candy or Grenda might wake up too."

"Oh. Ok then. Yeah," Dipper said, trying to force a smile. "That's fine. Whatever you want. I'm good. Totally fine over here."

"Okay," Pacifica said, but she didn't move – merely turned a bit redder and stared at her feet.

 _Just go for it._

Leaning in, Dipper kissed her quickly on the cheek; Pacifica turned even redder, but the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "Maybe I can stay for a little bit."

All too soon, Pacifica had to head back upstairs, but it wasn't long before she and the girls came back down for breakfast.

"Morning," Ford said cheerfully, placing a platter of unidentifiable fried matter on the table. "Gruncle Ford, what are THOSE?!" Mabel asked as everyone looked apprehensively at the plate. "Since I forgot to do the grocery shopping, I thought I would make it up to you with a special delicacy," he said. "The rare Twelve Legged Tecuhtli. It's illegal to hunt them in five dimensions. Don't worry if they move a little, it's perfectly natural. I'm fairly certain they're not still alive. And be grateful for that; they may not be big but they can still easily strangle you if you're not careful."

"Gruncle Ford," Dipper said, pointing at one of them, "are they supposed to move that much?"

Without hesitation, Ford brought a hammer down swiftly on the creature, breaking off a chunk of the plate in the process, and the twitching stopped instantly as an orange goo started oozing out of it "As I said, fairly certain. Uh… thank you Dipper," he said, clearing away the chunk of plate. "Dig in, everyone! Don't worry, that one is still good."

At that point Dipper wondered if he might starve to death over break. He found himself thinking almost longingly of the Stancakes; at least with those, he knew what horrors to expect. Not wanting to upset Ford, though, he choked down the Tecuhtli. In between bites, he tried to ignore the girls' rehashing of their evening, though he noticed Pacifica's voice seemed to be absent from the conversation. The few times he looked up, he noticed that she was mostly just poking halfheartedly at her own Tecuhtli, not seeming to notice much of anything going on around her. However, on one such occasion he noticed that Mabel also seemed to have observed Pacifica's preoccupation, and he knew that she'd be asking questions. His mind began scrambling for a way to deflect her; he didn't want her getting overexcited when he himself didn't even know what was going on.

"Pacifica, are you ok? You seem kinda gloomy."

Too late.

"… I'm fine," she said in a flat tone that made it abundantly clear that she was not fine.

"Come on, I thought you had a great time last night. What's the matter?" Pacifica remained silent, but Mabel persevered. "I'm gonna flip that frown upside down," she said, plastering a star sticker over Pacifica's llama sweater. "Nobody leaves a Mabel sleepover gloomy."

Pacifica showed no reaction whatsoever, continuing to poke at her breakfast with the fork. "I'm not hungry," she finally muttered, pushing her plate away and standing up. A few minutes later she was back, carrying her bag. "Thanks for having me over Mabel," she said.

Mabel looked stricken. "But… I didn't get a chance to cheer you up! And your parents aren't going to be here for hours!"

"I'm just going to walk home," Pacifica said.

"No no no, I can't let this happen," Mabel said. "Pacifica, I need to talk to you in the hallway."

"Mabel, I -"

"You can argue with me later," Mabel said. "Right now, I need to talk to you."

Pacifica let out a long suffering sigh and went with Mabel. After only a few minutes, they emerged; Mabel looked extremely downcast. Pacifica grabbed her bag and left without saying a word.

A few hours later, after Candy and Grenda had left as well, Dipper finally worked up the nerve to ask Mabel what had been wrong with Pacifica.

"I dunno," Mabel said. "She said she had bad dreams, but I don't think that was it. I don't know why, and I don't know why she'd be hiding something from me. I thought we were friends now."

"You are," Dipper said hurriedly.

"How can you be sure?" Mabel asked.

"Uh, um…" Dipper mentally scrambled for an answer. "I… because… Pacifica likes llamas… and she still has that sweater you made her?"

 _That was barely even English._

Mabel looked quizzical. "I guess," she said. "I just can't figure out what happened. She was nice last night, and not just for Pacifica – regular person nice! Even to Grenda! She even volunteered to get the sodas for us when Candy was thirsty."

"She did?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah, she wanted to really bad," Mabel said. "But even before that she was being all nice and stuff. I think something happened when she was gone, because she came back kinda different, but she seemed really happy and stuff. It wasn't anything bad then, she was fine the rest of the night."

"Well, if she doesn't want to tell you, I think you should respect that," Dipper said. "If she wants to talk to you she will."

"I guess," Mabel said, turning back to her winter break scrapbook but clearly still gloomy.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Dipper resumed his novel – but his concentration was even worse than when the girls had been making noise the previous evening. His thoughts kept drifting back to Pacifica and what had happened – why had she seemed so miserable that morning? Was it something he'd said or done? Could it be something he'd forgotten even happened? He wanted desperately to see her, to talk to her again – but what would he even say?

Putting down his book, he muttered to Mabel that he was going for a walk. He trudged aimlessly through the snow, not thinking or feeling anything save for the sting of the cold on his face and the thick, fluffy snow beneath his feet.

He didn't know how long he walked, or even how he got there, but he found himself close to the new Northwest family home, and decided to pay it a visit. While not as elaborate as Northwest Manor, it was still one of the nicest houses in town; Preston Northwest had managed to turn the family's finances around again after losing the mansion, and with the proceeds of the sale to Mr. McGucket, he had begun to rebuild his business empire. But right now, none of that concerned Dipper.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"And how may I help you, young master?" the mustachioed butler answered. He'd been the only servant the family had retained from the mansion.

"I'm here to see Pacifica," Dipper said.

"I don't believe Miss Northwest is taking callers right now," the butler said. "Is she expecting you?"

"Maybe," Dipper said, not sure what to say. "Could you check? Tell her it's Dipper."

The butler bowed and disappeared, closing the door behind him. A few minutes later he opened it, but Pacifica was not there.

"Miss Northwest will receive you upstairs," he said. "I shall take your coat."

Completely unsure of what to expect, Dipper followed the butler upstairs, trepidation growing with every step. "A Master Dipper to see you, Miss Northwest," the butler pompously announced at the threshold. His knees felt about ready to give way from under him, but he'd reached the point where the prospect of turning back terrified him more than going forward.

Pacifica was sitting on her bed, not looking at him. Dipper closed the door behind him as he walked in.

"So… how's things?" he asked after a few moments' awkward silence.

"Dipper, do you like me?" Pacifica asked.

The question caught him off guard. "Of course I like you! I mean… it took some getting used to being your friend after you were horrible to Mabel when we first met you, but I… I was really looking forward to seeing you when I got back."

She smiled a little and finally looked at him. "You know, you called me the worst once and slammed a door in my face."

"Haha, yeah," Dipper said, ashamed at the memory – it was painfully clear in his head.

"You said I was another link in the world's worst chain," she said, and her smile was gone. "I never forgot that, because it was true. I was horrible to you and Mabel and for basically no reason for so long. I deserved to be called the worst and have doors slammed in my face, but you were the only one to do it. Even then I was lying to your face, and you still agreed to help me out. Then when you found out, you forgave me so quickly – for that, and for everything that I did to you guys over the summer. It seemed too nice to be true; sometimes I still think so."

"Pacifica, I was wrong," Dipper said quickly. "You proved I was wrong when you opened that gate, and you've been proving me wrong about it ever since." He smiled at her, but she still wouldn't meet his eye. "I was wrong about you," he said, silently pleading for her to believe him. "You're not like the other Northwests; even a crazed hundred fifty year old lumberjack ghost knew it."

"I wondered," Pacifica said, smiling weakly again. "I was so horrible to you for so much of the summer… I knew that Mabel forgave me for it completely, but I wasn't sure about you. She'd forgive just about anyone for anything, she's the sweetest person I know, but you aren't so trusting. And I still catch myself… sometimes I think I am just like my parents. I act like them without even thinking about it. Mabel can and does like just about anyone, but I didn't know if you could really like someone like that."

"Turns out I can," Dipper said, sitting on the bed next to her and putting his arms around her. He felt her tense up, but only for a moment. Hesitantly, she put an arm around him and nestled her head in his chest. "You're the boniest pillow I've ever had," she murmured. He gave her a playful nudge and kissed the top of her head.

"I do really like you though," Dipper said. "Like… really. I meant everything I said last night. And just now. Not only are you not like the other Northwests, you're not like anyone I've ever met. Your parents tried as hard as they could to turn you into this spoiled bratty rich girl, but it didn't happen. You still managed to know right from wrong even though you had nobody to teach you. That takes a special kind of person – the Pacifica that I met at the start of last summer wouldn't have stood up to the ghost alongside me, wouldn't have been ashamed of lying to me to rope me into getting rid of it, wouldn't have opened the gate to the townspeople or stood up to Bill when it looked like he was going to take over the universe. Most people try to stick up for what's right, but you did it against everything you'd been taught your entire life."

Pacifica smiled. "Nobody ever really put it to me like that before. It almost sounds noble when you say it that way," she said.

"Well it is," Dipper said, kissing the top of her head awkwardly once more. "By the way… I may hate myself for asking this, but where are your parents?"

"I don't even know, half the time they don't even tell me they're going anymore," she said, and she sounded vaguely disappointed. "I'm supposed to ask the butler if I want to know where they are or when they're getting back." She paused. "It's not going to be for a few hours, though. Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Uh… yeah, I can't see why not," Dipper said, still nervous. He made a mental note to ask Ford if there was a way to stop copious palm sweating; his hands were noticeably moist again. Was it supposed to be like this? Were you supposed to be this terrified and confused? Perhaps he had been with Wendy, but Pacifica actually liked him back – shouldn't that change things? Shouldn't it be easier?


	3. Chapter 3

"Bro bro, are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Dipper looked across the attic, not sure why Mabel was questioning him.

"You've just been sitting there forever, and the past couple days you've been acting really weird," she said. "And not your normal weird, either. Like… I don't think I've ever even seen this Dipper before."

Desperate to deflect her, Dipper picked up the book that he had just recently set down. "What are you talking about, Mabel? I've been reading, just like usual."

Mabel shook her head. "You're not talking to yourself like you usually do when you read. And you've had that book in your hands for two hours, but you've barely even started it."

"I…" Dipper tried to think of a suitable lie; he hated deceiving his sister like this, but he didn't know that he was ready to talk to her or anyone about what had happened with Pacifica. He couldn't even articulate his thoughts and feelings about her to himself; how could he possibly speak to anyone about it when he didn't even know what was happening?

"I… I've just been thinking, it's gonna be really terrible to have to leave here again," he said.

"Aww," Mabel said sympathetically, "But we've only been here a few days, we still have all kinds of time left. Just try to enjoy it while you're here, ok? Please?"

"Yeah… yeah," Dipper said, trying to sound upbeat. "I think I can do that." He set down his book again; one thing, at least, was clear – Mabel knew him too well, if he kept spending time around her, he was only going to get more questions and make her progressively more worried until he told her what was really going on. Maybe he should… but Mabel didn't feel like quite the right person to go to. He needed someone older, more experienced.

"Grunkle Stan? Could I talk to you?"

His uncle was sprawled out in his chair, with the TV blaring an announcer's voice - "Congratulations, you've earned another spin! We'll get right to that when Cash Wheel returns!" Stan flipped it off, muttering to himself. "They should have taken gimme… what's up kid?"

Dipper sighed. "Well, I'm having… girl problems."

"Oy," Stan groaned, "I feel you there. What's eatin' you? You're not still hung up on Wendy, are you?"

"What? No, it's a completely different girl," Dipper said. "Completely different," he repeated, when Stan looked quizzical. "It's… it's Pacifica."

Stan looked completely confused. "You don't mean Northwest?"

"How many Pacificas are there in Gravity Falls?" Dipper asked.

"Huh. Well, good luck with that one," Stan said, chuckling. "Girls like that don't give guys like you and me the time of day."

"Actually, she kinda already did," Dipper said, scratching his neck and staring at the carpet.

"WHAT?!" Stan slapped his knee. "Hey, good for you kid! I gotta admit, I didn't think you had it in you. Pacifica Northwest, the most popular girl in town!" A big grin was plastered on his face. "You got gumption! What do you need me for then?" His smile faded a bit. "Is it her parents?"

"What? No, I don't think they even know," Dipper said. "No, it's… ugh, I don't even know how to say it. She…"

"Look, kid," Stan said, "You like her, right? You wanna be with her? Spend time with her and do whatever crap it is you kids do these days?"

"Well… yeah," Dipper said, and there wasn't any doubt. Being around Pacifica made him painfully nervous at times, but he still didn't regret any of the time he'd spent with her. "I feel so awkward when I'm around her though! I get all nervous and sweaty, and I feel like I never know what to say."

"Hey, you're always nervous and sweaty," Stan said. "Look, this might be hard to hear, but you're an awkward kid at an awkward age. That's just you. But if you keep working on it, you'll get better about it. It just means you care about what she thinks of you. It's perfectly normal to be nervous; means you actually give a crap!"

"Thanks Grunkle Stan," said Dipper; he felt a bit better about things now. Maybe he was supposed to be feeling this way about it after all.

Stan mussed his hair. "You'll be ok. You're a good kid, and you'll always have your family. That's the important thing."

However better he felt about his talk with Stan, his fears had not been completely assuaged. Even if things went well with Pacifica, even if he started feeling more comfortable around her, he only had a short time there before he'd return to California. What would happen then? Would she forget about him, ignore him? And if she didn't, how could they keep a relationship going if the soonest they could see each other was next summer?

Dipper glanced out the window at the woods, wondering if there was something out there that would help him stop asking himself uncomfortable questions. After speaking with Stan, though, one thing was clear enough – he wanted to see Pacifica again. He didn't want to just show up at her house again; that ran the risk of her parents seeing him, and the last thing that he needed was another complication. But he didn't have her number; however, he knew someone who did.

 _I can't tell Mabel, though. And there's no way to ask without her suspecting anything._

He wracked his brains all afternoon, but nothing came to mind. It felt like bashing his head into a brick wall; it seemed like there should be a simple, obvious solution, and yet his mind was completely blank.

A sharp knock on the door interrupted his reverie. He heard Mabel squealing at an octave he didn't think humans should be capable of reaching; it must be another sleepover…

He sat bolt upright, listening intently for Pacifica's voice. Grenda was unmistakable, Candy was there as well… after a few moments, he finally heard Pacifica, and his heart started doing somersaults. Jumping up from his bed, he bolted halfway down the stairs before he realized that if he hugged her in front of everyone, it might tip them off. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure how he'd pry her away from Mabel, Candy, and Grenda. Maybe a few minutes here or there, but every moment they spent together, they risked discovery.

Slowly it dawned on him… there was a way, but even the thought of doing it filled him with dread. Besides, he ran the risk of utter humiliation in front of Pacifica; even if he somehow avoided that, the horrors he would be subjected to even if things went as well as possible were enough to give him pause. He would rather face Bill Cipher alone at the full height of his power, but there was no other way.

With every step down the stairs, his feet seemed to grow heavier; by the time he was facing the girls, he wanted nothing more than to bolt and hide in the furthest corner of the shack. Steeling himself, he spoke in as close to a casual tone as he could.

"Hey… another sleepover?"

"Oh, yeah," Mabel said, grinning, braces on full display. "Since I only have a couple weeks we're trying to make the most out of it. We'll try to keep it down tonight, but no promises! Sometimes we just gotta go cray cray!"

"Oh, no, that's not… haha," Dipper said, trying valiantly to hitch a smile onto his face. "No, it's not a problem. I was just wondering if I could… maybe… for a bit at least…. join... you guys?"

Mabel looked a bit taken aback. "You do realize that you're going to be reading romance novels with us that Grenda stole from her mom, listening to Sev'ral Times, and doing a bunch of girly stuff that you're always complaining to me about how horrible it is?"

"Yeah..." Dipper said, and even as he spoke, he had a fleeting, nonsensical urge to reach out and snatch the words from the air before they could reach Mabel's ears.

She shrugged and smiled. "All right! Tonight, you get to be one of the girls!"

"But one thing, no makeovers," he said quickly, hoping to forestall this particular tragedy.

"But Dipper, you'd look so beautiful," Mabel said pleadingly. "And as much as Waddles likes it, you can only put lipstick on a pig so many times."

"No makeup," Dipper said flatly, already regretting his decision.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure we can change your mind later," Mabel said, pinching his cheek. "Grenda, do you have the books?"

"Yep," she said, holding them up. "The Secret Vision of Unbound Love, Lord Werewolfington of Werewolf Manor, and Passions of Nighttime Darkness."

Dipper didn't know how he would survive.

It was every bit the difficult evening he had anticipated. Worse still, his interaction with Pacifica was greatly constrained; between Candy, Grenda, and Mabel, he could barely get a word in edgewise. He was thinking of giving up on the endeavor entirely when he noticed the girls looking at a photo album and giggling. Lost in thought, he had no idea what it was, but the girls were clearly fighting to control their laughter, and it was clearly a losing battle. "Guys? What's going on?" he asked.

Pacifica put a hand to her mouth, but it couldn't contain her wide smile. "Dipper, don't be embarrassed, you look so adorable. I honestly think it's cute -"

Feeling his blood run cold, Dipper scrambled to snatch the album from his sister's lap. It was worse than he could have imagined; there, plastered all over the page, were various photos of him in costume doing the "Lammy Lammy" dance. One of the pictures was dated a mere three years ago. Red-faced, he looked at Pacifica; mercifully, she held back her laugh. "Dipper, it's ok. Really, I do think it's cute." She put a hand on his for a few seconds, but withdrew it when she realized what she was doing. Fortunately the others were far too preoccupied to notice, but it didn't matter – Dipper couldn't take another second. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

At that point, Dipper didn't even know where he wanted to go, just that he wanted to put as much space as he could between him and that photo. It was dark and snowing outside, but that didn't deter him; he threw on his coat and Wendy's old hat and ventured forth.

He paced the grounds of the Mystery Shack for several minutes, occasionally glancing at the forest. In spite of his sworn word not to seek out the supernatural over the break, he found himself sorely tempted. The trees whispered promises of adventures yet to come, thrilling and dangerous – a chance for Dipper Pines to show his quality yet again. Who knew, a greater evil than Bill Cipher might be hiding in there at this very moment, and they could be saved only if he went out at that very moment to investigate…

"Dipper? You're not thinking of going in there, are you?"

He turned around. Pacifica was standing only a few feet behind him; even with her winter clothing and the darkness, he recognized her.

"So what if I am?" Dipper asked, a bit defensively.

"So what? So what!?" Pacifica sounded almost hysterical. "You're an idiot. Do you know how lucky you were that nothing happened to you this summer? Mabel told me everything about how you used to go into the forest practically every day. You took on the Multibear alone, with nothing but a spear; you captured a live Gremloblin that destroyed half the shack when it escaped, that Shapeshifter almost..." Her voice was starting to choke up; startled, Dipper stood awkwardly, not sure what to do or say. "You could have died a hundred times just facing Bill. But you didn't. You're here."

"Yeah..." Dipper said slowly, still uncertain. "But… I know the forest. I survived for a reason. There's plenty of dangerous stuff in there, but I can handle it."

"And you know that!" Pacifica said, tears streaming down her face. "So why do you have to go back? At night, in the snow, alone – Dipper, you're practically asking for something to happen to you."

"Because!" Dipper yelled, and even he was startled that he'd raised his voice, and Pacifica glared at him. "Because," he said, a bit sheepishly, "I… I needed another adventure."

"Why?" Pacifica asked.

"Because..." Dipper took a deep breath. "I guess after seeing those pictures..." his voice trailed off, not quite sure where he was going.

"Dipper, you don't need to prove yourself to me," Pacifica said. "I've seen you do so much."

"I know, but I still feel like that kid in that picture," Dipper mumbled. "Just a stupid little kid doing the… stupid Lammy Lammy dance."

"You'll always be that kid," Pacifica said, and her tone was gentle. "No matter what you do or where you go in life, you'll always be that adorable little boy who got dressed up in that costume and learned a song and dance for his mom. And there isn't anything wrong with that. There's nothing saying you can't be that boy AND the man who took down Bill Cipher." Pacifica kissed him softly on the lips and laid a hand on his cheek. "You look so happy in those pictures. You don't care what anyone thinks of you, and trust me, that's a gift. I've spent so much of my life worrying about what the wrong people think of me; I barely ever stopped to take the time to just have fun without trying to win anyone's approval." Her voice was low and soft now. "You're still that boy, and that's a good thing. You're more than that now; you've grown a lot. But don't lose that boy." Pacifica hugged him tightly; he could barely make out her voice, muffled as it was by his coat. "I like that boy. He's cute."

"Should we go back inside then?" Dipper asked, and Pacifica nodded. "You were the one stupid enough to come out here in the first place."

"I'll take that as a yes," Dipper said, and he tentatively took Pacifica's hand. He felt her tense slightly but then relax, and grasp his in return. Elated, Dipper walked back to the Shack hand in hand with Pacifica.


	4. Chapter 4

The house was quiet when Dipper and Pacifica came back in; Dipper peered about for a moment to make sure it was safe, then took Pacifica's hand.

"Are you sure you have to go back upstairs?" he asked, and Pacifica sighed.

"They'll come looking for me if I don't. And if they see us hanging out alone, together… well, they're probably going to jump to conclusions even if we aren't holding hands or anything." Pacifica was blushing slightly. "So yeah, I should probably get back up there. I'll try and sneak away sometime though, mkay?" She kissed Dipper lightly on the cheek and headed up the stairs.

Unbeknownst to her and Dipper, the trio had not been idle. Mabel had noticed a distinct change in Dipper over the past couple of days, and whatever it was, she was certain he wasn't telling her. She heard him stomp down the stairs and heard the door to the Mystery Shack close; looking out the window, she could see him walking around the grounds. Every couple of minutes she glanced out to check on him, but he was still merely pacing every time she looked. She tried to enjoy herself, but it was impossible to do more than fake a smile with Dipper so clearly upset – even when surrounded by her best friends. Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica were great, but -

"Guys? Where's Pacifica?" Mabel asked, looking around the room.

"You didn't hear? She had to go to the bathroom," said Grenda.

Just then, Mabel heard the door to the Shack open and shut again. She listened, but she couldn't hear anyone downstairs; glancing out the window, she saw Dipper still out there. Her confusion grew when she saw Pacifica walking towards him. It was impossible to hear what was going on, of course, but she could see them well enough. They seemed to be talking… arguing about something. What would Dipper and Pacifica have to argue about though? But her confusion at that was almost instantly forgotten; they had moved quite close to each other and… there was no doubt, they were kissing! And holding hands!

"Mabel? Is there something going on out there?" Candy asked.

"Buh?" Mabel said, still disoriented from the shock of what she had just seen.

"Outside. You keep staring out the window," Grenda said.

"Oh. Uh, no, Dipper was out there but…" Mabel thought frantically. "I... he came back in. I'm pretty sure. I was looking for him but I didn't see him just now." When she was sure Candy and Grenda's attention was elsewhere again, she chanced another glance out the window, but neither of them were out there. Downstairs, she heard the door open. Her heart was pounding – what should she do? Would either of them come back? Would both of them?

Fortunately only Pacifica came up; Mabel could barely contain herself, but she managed to composedly ask Pacifica if they could have a private word. But once they were out of earshot, she flung her arms around a thoroughly startled Pacifica.

"OHMYGODOHMYGOD I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Why didn't you guys tell me? When did it happen? Has it been going on since the summer or just when we came back? Was it just then or are you guys like a thing? If it's not a thing it should be a thing you guys are just so adorable together!"

"Mabel? Slow down a minute, what are you talking about?" Pacifica asked.

"I'm talking about you and Dipper!" Mabel said, braces flashing as she grinned.

"What about… what about me and Dipper?" Pacifica asked, her face red and her eyes suddenly looking everywhere except Mabel's face.

"I saw you guys outside! You were kissing, I saw, in the yard, through the window! And doing that hand-holdy junk!" Mabel said.

Pacifica stared blankly back at Mabel, not speaking for a moment. Finally: "Who else knows?"

"Nobody, unless you or Dipper told someone. I want to tell everyone, but… I didn't know if you guys wanted people to know yet," Mabel said.

"Huh. You keeping your mouth shut, wouldn't have seen that one coming," Pacifica said. "But… uh, thanks, I guess. Dipper… the last time I came over, he and I kinda… well, things kinda happened." Mabel gave a delighted squeal. "We haven't really talked a lot about it. I guess we like each other and stuff, but..." Pacifica's voice trailed off uncertainly.

"But what?" Mabel said plaintively. "You guys would be great for each other, if you like each other then you should be able to be happy together right?"

"Yeah..." Pacifica said, still clearly hesitant. "But… you guys go back to California. In, like, days."

"We'll be back this summer, don't worry about it," Mabel said. "We've talked about staying up here too, so many times – we love it here, and if you and Dipper are together, that's just one more great reason for us to stay!"

"Well there's another reason too," Pacifica said. "My parents… my parents aren't too happy with… well, they're not very happy with me right now anyway. I mean they've always been… difficult, and stuff, but lately they've just been unbearable. Thank god they're out of the house most of the time, or I don't know what I'd do. I think they sort of blame me for losing most of their money, I don't know why but I think they do..." Tears started beading in Pacifica's eyes. "They'd hate me if I were going out with your brother, I know they would, if they ever found out they'd kill me."

"But they've been letting you sleep over here," Mabel said, confused.

"They don't know that!" Pacifica said, her mascara running. "I've been sneaking out, you have no idea how lonely it's been, either cooped up in that house by myself or being around a bunch of people who wouldn't ever give me the time of day if it wasn't for my last name. I had to get out of there. And if they caught me sneaking out they'd kill me already, I don't know what they'd do if they caught me sneaking out to see Dipper."

"Pacifica..." Mabel didn't know quite what to say. She knew Pacifica's parents were formidable, but she hadn't known quite how harsh they could be with their daughter until she saw the frantic, frightened face of the girl in front of her. She reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Can't I help? It's not impossible, there's gotta be a way, there's gotta be something you can do! Love finds a way Pacifica, it always does, and if love can't, Mabel will!"

Pacifica smiled through her runny makeup, but it vanished almost instantly. "I… I don't know. I'm terrified to even try, you know? There are so many things that could go wrong, so many things already standing in the way, and I can't – there's no way around them. My parents aren't going to change their minds."

"They will once they see how happy you are with Dipper," Mabel said. "And you will be happy with Dipper, he's the best. I mean he leaves a LOT of dirty socks around and stuff, his hands get really sweaty and gross for basically no reason at all, he's always got his face in a book or he's thinking about some weird junk, but if he likes you, he really likes you. He'll be there for you, nobody's more loyal than Dipper and he's willing to make a lot of sacrifices for the people he cares about."

"Well… the hand thing is good to know, I thought it was something to do with me." Pacifica said. "I guess… I mean… I like him or whatever, and if you're not going to tell anyone else, really..."

Mabel made a zipping motion across her lips, and Pacifica said hurriedly, "I just don't want it to get back to my parents at all, ever. Like… don't even tell people when you get back to California. Please. I don't know how that would get back to them, but somehow it would, and then I'd – well."

Mabel nodded somberly. "I can talk about it with Dipper though, right?"

"Of course you can," Pacifica said, and Mabel smiled. "Great! I'm gonna do that. Totally unrelated question, where is he?"

Pacifica laughed. "Totally unrelated, yeah. I don't think he's coming back upstairs tonight. Or possibly ever, actually."

"Oh. I'll -" Mabel stopped. "No. You go, I can torture him about it all day tomorrow. You should spend some time with him."

Pacifica smiled slightly. "You sure?"

"Of course. I've had thirteen years with Dipper," Mabel said.

"What about Candy and Grenda?" Pacifica asked. "What if they ask where I am?"

"I'll think of something," Mabel said dismissively. "If I can't, I have Handsome Brooding Werewolf Adventures III to distract them. Go! Hang out with Dipper. Have fun! He may be my weird dorky brother, but I love him for it, and I know you will too."


	5. Chapter 5

Having already resigned himself to a long, lonely night sleeping in Gruncle Stan's chair after Pacifica had gone upstairs, Dipper found himself slouched over and idly flipping through channels, not really paying attention to anything happening on the screen. If there had been any lingering doubt that Pacifica truly and deeply cared for him, it was completely gone. But what did it _mean_? Did it mean that he couldn't go back in the forest, that his adventures there were over? Would she be that upset again if he ever attempted anything dangerous?

He was so lost in thought that Dipper didn't notice Pacifica had come back down until she touched his arm. "What are you doing back down here? Aren't the others going to wonder where you went?"

Pacifica smiled nervously. "Well, I have some good news and… some bad news."

Dipper groaned. "They know?! How could they know?! Were they spying on us?"

"They could see us from the attic window," Pacifica said. "But only Mabel saw us, and she promised to keep it a secret. And this way you don't have to worry about how you're going to tell her!"

"But… I wasn't sure I was ready for her to know yet," Dipper protested as Pacifica lifted his blanket and snuggled into the chair alongside him. "Relax, Dipper," she murmured. "It'll be fine. It's probably better that she knows. You two are a great team, but you can't support each other if you don't know what's going on. She can help you."

"How?" Dipper asked.

"I don't know yet," Pacifica admitted, "but something will come up. And you can trust her to have your back when it does."

"But..." Dipper started, vainly wracking his brains for another objection.

"Honestly, Dipper," Pacifica said, a hint of sharpness creeping into her voice, "this is better. Trust me. You were just nervous and embarrassed about telling her, and now, you don't have to be."

"You make it sound like I was scared of talking to my sister," Dipper said, disgruntled.

"That's because you were," Pacifica said, poking his shoulder. "You didn't talk to her when you had that crush on Wendy either."

"How do you know that?" Dipper asked, taken aback. "We weren't even friends then."

"She told me just about everything that happened over the summer," Pacifica said. There was a pause. Then, Pacifica spoke again: "You don't… ah, never mind."

"What?" Dipper asked.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Pacifica said, putting her arms around him and nestling herself into him.

"But you looked like… well, you looked really concerned about something," Dipper said, and even as he mentioned it, something in his head was nagging him to just leave it alone.

"I said don't worry about it," Pacifica said, and there was no mistaking the sharpness in her tone. "Stop asking."

After a few minutes, Dipper worked up the courage to speak again. "So… what now?"

"Mabel said she could keep Candy and Grenda distracted for a while, but I'm going to have to go back up there eventually," Pacifica said.

"So what, you just want to watch TV?" Dipper asked uncertainly.

"No. I want to watch TV with you," Pacifica said.

"What's the difference?" Dipper asked, nonplussed.

Pacifica sighed, and sunk back a bit in the chair, arms crossed. "Someday, you may grow a brain that works for something other than those books of yours."

Flushing, Dipper began flipping through the channels, looking for something, anything. In desperation, he settled on "Revenge of the Deer Zombies III". Sneaking occasional sideways glances at Pacifica, he felt like something was bothering her, but he couldn't put his finger on it at all.

"Do you ever think about the party?" he blurted impulsively.

"What?" It was Pacifica's turn to be completely confused. "What party?"

"The one… you know," Dipper said. "At your parents' house. With the ghost who wanted to take revenge on your family."

"Oh," Pacifica said. "Yeah," she continued after a moment, "I think about it from time to time. Why?"

"Just..." Dipper could feel his heart thumping against his chest. "You… you looked really nice that night."  
"Oh." Pacifica turned a deep shade of red. "Thanks?"

"I mean… it's the first time I can remember looking at you and… I guess, I don't know, liking what I saw," Dipper rambled desperately, not remotely sure of the point he was trying to make but somehow unable to stop himself talking, hoping valiantly that he would soon start to make sense. "It made me understand where you came from, and why you were the way you were, and it made me feel like you didn't want to be like that," he continued, watching Pacifica's face for a reaction. "That's kind of where it all started for me, you know? It sounds crazy but I got the feeling that maybe you wanted a different destiny than what your parents wanted for you, and maybe I was supposed to be a part of that somehow. And that maybe I had something to learn from you too – that people aren't always the way they are because they want to be, but maybe they have to be. Or they just don't know how to be different, maybe it's the only thing they've ever known."

"That… makes sense, I guess," Pacifica said slowly. "But what about my parents? You think they can change too, or are they just going to be rich snobs for the rest of their lives?"

"Probably," Dipper admitted, "but it's never too late. Look at Gruncle Stan – I thought he was just a weird, cheap, grungy old con man."

"He still kinda is," Pacifica said, smiling. "He tried to sell me a severed hand with some weird old story about a witch."

"In this town, you never know, he might have been telling the truth," Dipper said.

"It was made of tissue paper and two of the fingers broke off while he was talking."

"Ah. Never mind then," Dipper said. "The point is, though, he's more than that. All that time, he really just wanted his brother back and to keep Mabel and I safe. And even the cheap old con man thing makes sense when you take his family into account."

"What does his family have to do with it?" Pacifica asked.

"Honestly, just about everything," Dipper said. "They turned him out because they thought he cost Ford a scholarship and the chance to make millions. His dad threw him out on the street, Ford turned his back on him and everything because he thought he did it on purpose. He was still in high school. His dad told him not to come back until he'd made the money; he tried a thousand different things but none of them worked until he ended up here."

Pacifica's eyes were wide. "So that's what happened! I thought he was just greedy."

"Well, yes and no," Dipper said. "He's still greedy, but he does care about his family, and he puts us ahead of his greed every… well, almost every time."

"Did he ever really change though? I mean, maybe he was nice to begin with and it just didn't show, because he'd had such a hard life," Pacifica said. "There was that goodness in him just waiting to be found by you and Mabel."

"We had to dig deep to find it, though," Dipper said, laughing. "But yeah, it was there already."

"So you think my parents have that in them too, they just need someone to dig it up?" Pacifica asked.

"I don't know," Dipper said. "I do know that you had it," he continued, kissing her awkwardly. Pacifica laughed, and Dipper jerked his face away from hers, blushing. "I'm sorry Dipper," she said, though she was still chuckling slightly. "I shouldn't have done that. Go ahead, I won't laugh this time."

"Oh, yes, that's a wonderful commentary on my technique," Dipper said sarcastically. "It's not so bad that you laugh at it, most of the time."

"Hey, I apologized you dork," Pacifica said sharply. "I don't see what else I can do."

Dipper sighed. "I suppose not." He looked at her, wondering if he should try to kiss her again, but couldn't work up the nerve and turned his head away slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Pacifica looked mildly disappointed. He tried to work up the courage to turn back and face her again, but somehow couldn't. He could feel his face burning; he felt Pacifica's eyes on him and felt his shame redouble – how could he not even face her? What was he even scared of?

"Hey," he heard her say softly, and felt her hand on his cheek, turning him slowly and gently to face her. "Look at me," she said, and Dipper's eyes locked onto hers. "You seemed like something was bothering you; is it anything you want..." Pacifica hesitated a moment, seemingly nervous herself, but quickly regained her composure. "Is it anything that you want to talk about?"

In truth, Dipper couldn't even recall what, if anything, he'd been upset about. "No, it's fine," he said, but even he knew his tone was unconvincing. Judging by Pacifica's frown, he could tell she shared his opinion.

"You can talk to me about stuff, you know. Now that we're… like… this, the way we are, we're supposed to. Talk about stuff, I mean. Problems and stuff. And..." Pacifica's voice caught for a moment. "I do want to help, Dipper, I really do, if something is wrong – even if it's just sharing what it is, even if I can't really do anything about it, I still want to know. I want to know about you, what's happening, what you're thinking, what you're feeling. I -" Pacifica's voice caught again, and she looked down, sheepishly. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I just want everything to be good with you, and… you know… with us."

"It is," Dipper said, and with a fierce, glowing rush of feeling, he kissed Pacifica again, holding her firmly in his arms as he locked lips with her.

And this time, she didn't laugh.


	6. Chapter 6

Much as he would have enjoyed spending the night with Pacifica in the chair again, they decided they couldn't risk it – Mabel and Gruncle Stan knew, but Dipper wasn't comfortable with the inevitable teasing from Candy and Grenda. Besides which, he mused, he didn't even really know what was happening with them, and he doubted Pacifica did either. "We're just winging it," Dipper muttered to himself as he stretched out in the chair, the first light of dawn creeping in through the windows – he had slept poorly.

He had no idea what would happen when he had to leave Gravity Falls again; it would only be a few days before he had to do so. He had floated the idea of staying more permanently, but his parents had laughed it off. Perhaps he could convince them that he was serious, perhaps he and Mabel could together – he knew that if he stayed, she would want to as well. And Gravity Falls, in spite of initial appearances, seemed to have much more to offer him than California. He might take up Ford's apprenticeship offer, if he and Stan would agree to stay…

Dipper shook himself mentally. Maybe he could persuade his parents, but not while he was in Gravity Falls. It would take time, and that was something he didn't have right now. Which meant two things; first that he had to go back to California at least once more, and second, he really didn't want to face that fact right now.

Yawning and stretching, Dipper arose from the chair, trying – and failing – to straighten out the crick in his back that too many nights spent in the chair had given him. "Pacifica," he said, before even properly registering that she was right in front of him. "Pacifica! You're… ah… you're up early."

"I couldn't sleep," she said.

"Me neither," Dipper replied. There was an awkward pause. Then:

"I can't stop thinking about when you'll go back," Pacifica said, and Dipper let out an involuntary sigh. "I can't stop… I mean I'll still have a couple friends here, but… you're special to me, Dipper, you really are. You're the only reason I have those other friends – any real friends at all. Before I just had people who followed me around mindlessly. And now… I don't know what to do while you're gone. I'm going to be spending a lot of time being miserable at my parents' house, I guess," she said, and her voice had taken on a bitter tone.

"Maybe… maybe you can come down to California sometime."

Pacifica laughed humorlessly. "To see you? Why do you think they'd even think about letting me do that? To them, you're the boy that helped steal their house and ruin them. And they wouldn't let me go alone. There's no way I'd be able to sneak off, and if I got caught doing it, they'd never let me go anywhere again in my life."

"Well then what do we do?" Dipper asked.

"I don't know," Pacifica said.

"Better question – what CAN we do," said Dipper, "except wait?"

Pacifica bowed her head. "I don't want to," she muttered to the floor.

"Hey… I'll write to you and stuff," Dipper said, trying to sound upbeat. "You can call me whenever you want, and I'll try to convince my parents to let me live here permanently. I mean I was going to do that anyway, but now, definitely..."  
Pacifica half smiled. "I guess that's better than nothing. I just couldn't help but wonder if… no, I don't even want to say it."

"Come on, you can tell me," Dipper said cajolingly, though a voice in the back of his head told him that perhaps if she didn't want to say it, perhaps it was best left unheard.

"I couldn't help but wonder if maybe this was doomed from the start," Pacifica said, staring resolutely at the ground, and Dipper internally reprimanded himself for pressing her. "Between your living in California and my parents, I just couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea."

"But… you did it anyway."

"Well yeah," Pacifica said, smiling at him. "You're just too cute."

Dipper felt himself blushing. "Right."

"I thought I should make my move before all of those California girls started tearing each other up to get at you," Pacifica said, a bit teasingly. "You certainly didn't seem sorry I did."

"No," Dipper said, scratching his head. "I wasn't. I'm not. I just -"

"Good morning, kids!" Gruncle Ford interrupted, beaming at them both, and Dipper started. "Ford! What are you doing up?"

"I thought I'd get an early start on the day. My turn to make breakfast after all," Ford said. "I see you kids had the same idea."

"Yeah," Pacifica said uncomfortably as she and Dipper avoided making eye contact.

"What are you making and where is it from," Dipper asked with more than a hint of trepidation.

"Don't worry, Dipper, I'm just making bacon," Ford said, and Dipper breathed a sigh of relief. "It should be finished growing in time for breakfast; I found a catalyst to accelerate the process a couple of days ago and the bacon's been sprouting up like gangbusters ever since! I've even had to prune some of the plants."

Dipper groaned silently. Between Ford and Stan, he thought he might die of hunger if he had to make do with their cooking much longer.

Fortunately the bacon was at least palatable, and if he didn't think too much about what he was eating or where it had come from, Dipper was able to get down enough of it to sate his hunger. Candy and Grenda left first, which gave him the chance to see Pacifica outside and say goodbye.

"Look, it'll be ok," Dipper said, hugging Pacifica gently. "We'll figure out the distance thing in the meantime but eventually I'll be here for longer. As for your parents, well..." he kissed her on the lips and smiled at her, trying to sound brave. "I've handled some pretty powerful and scary monsters. They're up there, I'll admit, but I don't think they're worse than anything I've handled before."

Pacifica looked downcast. "That's what I'm afraid of, Dipper."

"What?" Dipper asked, confused.

"I don't know," Pacifica said. "I just have this awful feeling that… as many horrible monsters as you've faced, my parents might actually be the worst."


	7. Chapter 7

Dipper couldn't focus on anything for the entire day. He couldn't stop thinking about Pacifica, and what she'd said about her parents – how scared she was of them. Might he be underestimating them? They were, after all, rich and powerful people in Gravity Falls, and the town had been a center of paranormal activity for some time. Might the Northwest family be even worse than standard cheats and liars?

Surely there was something around the town – a supernatural being or object that would bring wealth and prosperity. The Northwests had rebounded so quickly, too, after losing their house and a great deal of their fortune – perhaps he should be more suspicious of that? His thoughts strayed to the journals, and of all the knowledge they'd held – he couldn't recall everything that he'd read, but perhaps there had been something in their pages that held the secret to the Northwest's family wealth.

Or maybe he was wrong.

His thoughts strayed again back to Pacifica herself. He'd liked her even before he came back to Gravity Falls, but not like this. It was as though his feelings grew each time he saw her again; he now felt strangely close to her and protective of her in a way that he hadn't felt for anyone except Mabel. It was an honestly terrifying sort of intimacy, as though his heart had chosen her, and the rest of him was along for the ride.

It was different than what he'd felt towards Wendy; he'd refused to acknowledge for some time that it wouldn't work out, but the fact was, he was… happy with Pacifica. Being with her felt right, just as being around Mabel was – but it was a different sort of feeling, it wasn't nearly as comfortable. He didn't know her nearly that well yet, though he was rapidly getting there.

But he was scared as well around her; scared of pitfalls, that he might do something wrong, that he might mess it up, that she might decide, for whatever reason, that she didn't like him that way anymore. He'd never had a girlfriend, only a few crushes and some feeble stabs at trying to make something of them; he had no idea what to expect. Perhaps he should talk to someone… maybe Gruncle Stan again. Ford was bright, yes, but he'd also spent several decades away from human females, so Dipper had his doubts as to how much help he could be.

Stan was, as per usual, slouched in his chair, watching Baby Knife Fights III. "Hey kid, how's it hanging?" he said, when he saw Dipper. "How's that little girlfriend of yours doing, the Northwest kid?"

"She's… doing great," Dipper said, trying to sound optimistic. "We're doing great. I just… I wanted to ask, you've dated a lot of women, haven't you?"

"Ah, so you want some advice? Well you came to the right place, kid," Stan said, teeth flashing in a smile. "You got a question, I got the answer."

"Well… what if her parents don't like you?" Dipper asked.

"Look, to be honest, I'm a two bit fast talking con man who's been to jail in almost every state," said Stan. "I've never NOT had that problem. But truth is, women love that kind of thing. Makes them go for you even more."

"Really?" Dipper asked.

"Oh yeah," Stan said. "I've had girls go out with me and that was pretty much the only reason. They'll date the biggest loser they can find just to get back at their parents. Not that I minded, half the time I was just trying to borrow some money off them."

Dipper frowned. Was Pacifica only interested in him because her parents hated him so much? He pushed that thought from his mind and plunged onward.

"Next question, I'm going to be going back to California soon. Have you ever done long distance?"

Stan got a mournful look on his face. "Ah, Angelique. We talked on the phone every night, sometimes for hours, and I'd write her every week. I was in Texas, she was in Ohio. Heck of a woman, or so I thought. She told me she loved me every time we spoke, and then I pay her a surprise visit on a pug-smuggling run to Canada and it turns out she's married. Ripped my heart to pieces, but what are you going to do? That's women for you. Whenever something goes wrong like that, you never see it coming."

"Great," Dipper muttered, half to himself. "Gruncle Stan, I was wondering if maybe you had anything a bit more encouraging you could share?"

Stan shrugged. "Well, I've managed to be married. It didn't stick, but yours probably will. Definitely the second time though if the first one goes down the tubes, you don't seem like a double divorce kind of guy. Just stay confident and everything will work out."

"Were you confident with Angelique?" Dipper asked.

"Well, I guess..." Stan said. "Ah, I see your point. Confidence doesn't solve everything, but you can't get anywhere without it, especially with women. Always."

"Even if she's already with you?" Dipper asked.

"Especially then. When she smells desperation and insecurity, she's gone. She'll leave you in an instant."

"How am I supposed to not be insecure when you just told me she might leave me in an instant?" Dipper asked, slightly panicky.

"Well, you kinda have to fake it," Stan said. "It's like bluffing in poker. You have to pretend like you have a good hand even when you have a pair of threes. It was just my luck with five grand on the table he had four Kings… maybe someday I'll be legally allowed in Atlantic City again..." Stan appeared lost in reminiscence for a moment, but came back to earth quickly. "But that's another story," he said, smiling in a slightly pained fashion.

"You've had years of experience with women, and you still seem confused about them," Dipper said. "Are they really that hard to figure out?"

"No Dipper," Stan said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They're even harder than that. Look, maybe I didn't have a lot of encouraging words for you, but fortunately for you, you're not me. You're a good kid, and you know how to treat people. Your little girlfriend is gonna see that, and she's gonna love you for it. Don't over think it too much. It's corny, but be yourself – she likes that, so just keep doing it. If she digs you, then you don't really need to change anything. Just be attentive to her, spend time with her, and spend time on her – show her you're thinking about her even when she's not around. Chicks really dig that garbage. Really, if she likes you, then all she needs to know is that you like her back.

"Show her I'm thinking about her, show her I like her," Dipper said, fingers tented. "Got it. Thanks, Gruncle Stan."


End file.
